The Long Road to Clocktown
by Waterwaith
Summary: Set during Majora's Mask. After a day of playing with Romani, Link encounters her older sister, Cremia. On the ride back to Clock Town, they learn a thing or two about one another.


"Oh….good evening."

The voice pierced the trance Link was in, brought on by his own exhaustion. He turned to the source. The woman he recognized immediately to be Romani's sister. Like her, she had long, blazing red hair that went down her back, her pointed ears sticking out from beneath it. Her eyes were large and deep blue, again, like her younger sibling. She wore a white shirt that was tucked into her long, dark purple skirt. She clearly wasn't _that _much older than Link himself, with her face resembling that of a teenager. In her hands was a canister of what was most likely milk. While it appeared to be heavy, she didn't seem to struggle much at all with it.

After a brief silence, Link did manage to stutter out a "G-good evening." His natural shyness combined with his exhaustion was having a toll on him.

"You're that boy who's been coming over here to play with Romani..Link, was it?" She asked, cocking her head slightly.

Well, "playing" was an odd way to describe stopping an alien invasion. "Yeah, that's me." Link nodded. "And you're…." He was drawing a blank. Romani definitely mentioned her name.

"Cremia." She said, adding a little smile. It was the first he'd seen out of the woman in the admittedly few times he had seen her, and it made Link wonder why she didn't do it more often. It disappeared as quickly as it came, unfortunately.

"Right, Cremia…..Romani told me that.." Link said, finding himself scratching the back of his head. He mentally kicked himself for not remembering, but at the same time he was confused over why it bothered him so much.

"Oh, Romani talks about me?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah." Link said. "She told me about yo-" Link stopped himself. He couldn't believe he almost mouthed off about the rumors going around involving Cremia and Kafei. He was too tired to think straight, it seemed. The way the older girl was looking at him wasn't helping.

"…About how cool of a sister you are." Link could have slapped himself in the face right then and there. How could he say something

Cremia's eyes rolled into her head, but Link caught a hint of a smirk. "Yeah, right. She wouldn't be caught dead saying something like that."

Link let out a small, slightly nervous sounding chuckle. Mostly out of relief.

"Anyway…."Cremia said, adjusting the milk canister in her hands slightly. "I'm about to head down to clock town to make a delivery. Do you need a ride…?"

Link wanted to object, preferring not to impose on other people, but the idea of making the long walk back to clock town on foot in the middle of the night wasn't exactly appealing. Not to mention Tatl was fast asleep inside of his cap. If he happened to encounter any strange creatures, he would be without her guidance.

"…Sure." Link finally nodded.

"Okay. Just wait here while I get the carriage set up." She said, walking towards the barn.

About 15 minutes later, Link was sitting in the back of the carriage. The ride was a bit bumpy, but he couldn't really complain. It beat walking.

He hadn't said a word to the girl in the front since they had set off. For some reason, he desperately wanted to break this awkward silence, but he didn't know what to say. From his angle, Link could see that Cremia herself had the solemn look she usually had. A look that implied her mind was going places she'd rather not it be.

To Link's surprise, it was Cremia who broke the silence. "I have to say, I'm glad you accepted my offer." She said.

Link didn't know what to say to that. All he could reply with was "…Really?".

"Well…..I've just been feeling kind of lonely lately. Especially on nights like this, when I have to deliver milk." She said, her voice cracking a bit. Link couldn't help but feel sorry for her. "It's just nice to have some company." She continued, her voice returning to normal.

Link was never good with consoling people. He couldn't think of a single thing to say, and that bugged him more than anything.

"Oh, what am I doing?" Cremia said, cutting through the awkward silence. "I shouldn't be bugging you with my problems." She let out a sigh, shifting in her seat. "Don't mind me."

"N-No, it's okay." Link stuttered out. "I mean, I might not have much to say, but I can always listen…I mean, whatever makes you feel better. I'm not trying to pry or anything. You don't have to talk if you don't want to. If it's personal, you ca-" Link then noticed the way the girl was looking at him. Her head was cocked to the side again, with her eyebrow raised, but this time, the smirk gave off an expression that said she was sort of amused.

"….I'll just shut up now." Link said. He could feel his face heating up as he looked away. He was such an idiot when he was tired.

Cremia let out a little laugh. "You're a sweet kid, you know that?"

Link turned even redder. "I'm not a kid."

Cremia's smile grew larger from that comment, but quickly disappeared. "You may be young….but I guess I shouldn't treat you like a kid. You seem like you've been through a lot." She stared at the boy. Everything, from the type of gear he carried, to the scars and scrapes on his arms and legs, showed that this just wasn't a regular kid. The only thing about him that seemed even remotely like a young boy was how easy he was to embarrass.

She turned back to face the empty country road ahead "I guess talking _could _help." She conceded. "But there's…not really much to say. Ever since my father…" She paused here, her voice cracking a bit again. "..died. He died a while ago...things have just been a little rough." Link felt a wave of sadness fall over him. He was immediately reminded of the day The Great Deku Tree died. The day his life changed forever. Maybe it was ultimately for the better, but Link always wondered what his life would be like if things had remained the way they were before his first journey started.

She straightened her posture, her voice returning to normal. "I figured I'd be okay if I just had some time, but I just don't think we have a lot of time left…you know what I mean?" As she said this, her head went up towards the sky. Towards the moon. It's piercing yellow staring back relentlessly. It's grimace forever carved into the stone foundation. No matter how often Link saw it, every time, he got chills.

Both of their thoughts were interrupted when the carriage came to a stop. A steel gate blocked the path.

"..This wasn't here before." Link said.

"I know." Cremia said, an edge appearing in her voice. "And I have a good idea of who put it here."

Before Link could ask for any sort of context, the older girl turned to him, her expression, usually somber, had turned into a more serious one. "Surely you have a bow on you right?" The softness in her voice was gone.

Link nodded. He was still confused, but thought it better to focus on whatever Cremia needed done.

"I need you to get it ready. We might have to take a detour through an…._uglier _part of Termina." She said. "I seriously need you to keep an eye out for bandits. I _need_ to make this delivery." She said. " I know I'm asking a lot from you, especially since I don't really know you that well.."

"Don't worry about it." Link said. He stood up, drawing his bow from its place on his back. "I got you covered. Just focus on getting us there."

Cremia was shocked at how quickly the originally shy boy had gained his composure, but ultimately she realized she shouldn't be surprised. He had clearly been through much worse.

"Alright. Hold on tight." She said, turning and grabbing the reigns. "We're going to be going a bit faster."

For a good 10 minutes, there was nothing but silence. The only sound was the occasional bump in the road that rattled the milk canisters. There wasn't much Link could do but wait, bow at the ready. Attempting to start a conversation now would just ruin his focus.

"LINK!" Cremia cried out. Link turned to find the source of her panic. Through the darkness, Link could make out a hooded figure. In the center of the road, charging at them head on. His first thought was that it was a Po, but he immediately noticed the horse it was riding on. Whatever it was, it probably wasn't supernatural. It also seemed to be carrying a lance of some kind. It didn't seem to have a bow or any kind of projectile weapon, though. That was a relief.

Link immediately pulled out an arrow, pulled it back onto the bowstring, pushed Cremia aside to get a better view of his target, and fired. A cry of pain told Link that he got a hit in. The cloaked figure's horse swerved to the right, avoiding the carriage and speeding past it.

Link quickly moved to the back to see the cloaked figure's horse pulling to a stop. It began to turn back toward him before it became too far for him to see it anymore. Link turned to Creamia. "I think he's turning back around. Speed up if you can." Cremia gave him a quick not before whipping the reins of the Carriage. Link stumbled from the jump in speed.

It wasn't long before the hooded figure returned, as Link expected. What he didn't expect was another, almost identical figure trailing behind it, their lances catching the glare of the moonlight. They were gaining fast. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" Cremia shouted from the front of the Carriage. Link was kind of hoping she wouldn't look back, since it would keep her from panicking. "Focus on the road!" Link shouted back as he pulled out another arrow.

As he turned back, he was greeted by the blade of the lance. He just barely moved out the way in time for it to avoid his chest and graze him across his shoulder. He bit his lip to keep himself from crying out in pain.

Before the lance could go in for another blow, Link quickly fired off an arrow, nailing the cloaked figure's horse's foot. The horse stumbled and collapsed onto it's side, quickly taking the cloaked figure with it. The second, which was trailing behind the first, stumbled on the first horse and collapsed onto it, creating a heap.

Link couldn't help but smirk at his handiwork.

The rest of the ride went without incident.

As Link and Cremia arrived, the older girl sighed in relief, leaning back in here seat. She turned towards Link, her winning smile showing itself once again. "That was a heck of a ride, huh?"

Link hopped off the carriage, shrugging when he landed. "Beats walking."

Cremia began a laugh, but came to a dead stop. She immediately wrapped both of her hands around Link's arm. Link could feel his face heating up again.

"You're hurt!" Cremia said, gesturing the gash on his shoulder, concern etched on her face.

"O-oh." Link stuttered. He had forgotten about that completely. Not to mention the way the girl was holding his hand made it hard to focus on anything else. "It's nothing. Nothing a few potions and some rest won't fix."

Cremia crossed her arms, concern still obvious. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Link nodded. "I've been through worse…" He trailed off, unintentionally rubbing his hand over a rather large scar that went across his other arm.

Cremia decided to drop the subject, against her better judgment. After that display against the bandits, it didn't feel right doubting his ability to take care of himself. She let go of his arm, and Link felt his face return to normal.

"Anyway.." Cremia began, her hands going behind her back. Her smile was back, and bigger than ever. "I wanted to thank you for today.."

"It's nothing." Link said. "Really. I'm just glad to help…"

"No, seriously…" She she said. "This isn't very big, but…just take it anyway."

Before Link could make an objection, Cremia's arms were around him and his head was pressed against her chest. In that moment, he felt like his face could catch on fire and his chest could explode.

And as soon as it began, it was over. Cremia let Link go. She began to twirl her hair with her finger. "It's not much, I know, but-" She stopped when she noticed Link's expression. Red as a beet, his eyes wide, and his mouth dangling

Link had never heard her laugh so loud. He'd also never blushed so hard in his life.


End file.
